In the dawn of the new age when photography evolved from film to digital capture, some tools we were familiar with were left behind. One of the most important was film choice, as it provided a direct reflection of what we wanted to communicate in color, contrast and sharpness. Photographers now accomplish this either in […]

Hooray, the new RMSP catalog is out! But now it’s time to make some important decisions. This time of year we get emails from people wanting to know which workshop they should take. Tough choice, I know; so many workshops…so few vacation days. When someone asks about my favorite workshops, I always mention our Foundation […]

Like most photographers I prefer my time shooting to that spent behind the computer. Downloading and editing images sucks up precious energy and time so I’m eager to streamline my workflow and shave time wherever possible. One of the best ways to do this is by using keyboard shortcuts. Whenever you find yourself continually repeating […]

Teaching in the Career Training, Workshops and Photo Weekends programs for RMSP I get a lot of questions. (Bring ‘em on, I love questions!) One equipment-related topic seems to be more of a stumbling block for new photographers than any other. At some point we’re all told that our lenses are going to perform differently […]

With Adobe’s announcement of a “Photographer’s Bundle” for the Creative Cloud subscription, many shutterbugs now have access to both Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CC for printing their images. So a fair question is, which one to use? Let’s see how they compare. How They’re Alike Lightroom and Photoshop share many printing features and capabilities. The […]

The photography industry giant and NAPP founder, Scott Kelby, knows a thing or two about inspiration. In fact, he’s made a cottage industry of inspiring photographers and artists worldwide to reach new heights, use new technology and become the artist one was born to be. So you have to believe that he knows a kindred […]

Going Beyond One Picture Last week In Part I of Exploring Your Subject, I introduced the concepts of environmental, intimate and abstract portraits. These approaches are means of exploring your subject so that “no stone is left unturned” in the process of searching for that one expression that communicates how we feel about the subject. […]

I imagine this has happened to you. You see something really exciting, frame it up in the viewfinder, snap the shutter, quickly glance at the back of the camera and then begin to look for other subjects nearby that may evoke the same kind of excitement. When you get back home and review the work […]

Once you’ve decided to print your image using either a photo inkjet printer or a printing service, you still have to prepare the file correctly to ensure you get quality results. This involves three steps: Set the resolution. Size the picture. Sharpen the image. If you are sending the picture out to a photo lab […]

By definition, Light Painting is the process of photographing at night while illuminating your subject with a handheld device such as a flashlight or camera flash. The use of a moving hand held light creates a look that is nearly impossible to replicate during daylight hours. You can also mix in the ambient light of […]

As the 79 new students who are in Missoula for Summer Intensive will soon learn, lighting is what can make or break a photograph. This may seem obvious when looking at an image of a spectacular sunset or harsh light on a models face. In these situations, lighting is dramatic, impressive, and “in-your-face.” It can […]

If you are looking for a business that can produce quality reproductions of your images, how do you decide which one to use? There are lots of different labs with various types and levels of service. You can ask friends, colleagues and teachers which photo labs they use, but their choices might be based on […]

Sometimes it is just impossible to get everything completely sharp within a photo, even if you stop down to the smallest aperture (such as f22 or f32). This may be due to using longer focal length lenses (which inherently give us less depth of field), or it could be that you are trying to get […]

I confess, although I am a visual artist, I am a lover of words. Often I find inspiration, revelations, or even consolation in reading and writing. The spoken word can have great impact as well. So inevitably, every time I ask my students to write an artist statement or statement of intent, the response is […]